Leaving in London: Dewey Hit with More Departures

Four lawyers from Dewey & LeBoeuf’s London office have exited in recent days, bringing the tally of departures to at least 48 equity partners since January.

The firm is undergoing a management overhaul in the wake of internal disputes over compensation that have prompted a number of defections, most prominently from Dewey & LeBoeuf’s once-core insurance practice. Dewey management has said that some partners were asked to leave, and that more departures would be expected as the firm refocuses on its more profitable practices.

This round of exits included partner Nicholas Rock, co-head of Dewey’s environmental litigation practice group, who is headed to Reed Smith. A spokeswoman for Reed Smith confirmed the move. Rock is the third partner to leave the London office, after Nick Bugler and Joe Ferraro, who left last month with an insurance group that joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher.

Three insurance lawyers also said their goodbyes, and have joined DLA Piper’s London office. That team includes Prakash (PK) Paran, who was a “local partner” at Dewey (meaning Paran did not hold an equity stake in the firm), along with “counsel” lawyer Roger Loo and associate Melanie James.

A spokesman for Dewey & LeBoeuf confirmed all four departures but had no further comment. Click here and here for stories on the moves, from Bloomberg and Legal Week, respectively.

Paran is now a partner in DLA Piper’s corporate group, and Loo and James joined the firm as counsel.

“PK, Roger and Melanie have impressive backgrounds and their history of handling large deals around the world will be a significant complement to our existing offering in London and across our global platform,” said Charles Severs, head of DLA Piper’s UK Corporate group, in a statement. “London is one of the world’s premier insurance markets and the hire of PK will enable us to further our strategic goal of establishing DLA Piper’s London Corporate group as a leading City practice.”

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